her with all hands. This bold demonstration decided the affair and the Furieuse, at 6 h. 16 m. P. M., struck her colours.

The Bonne-Citoyenne had her fore and main topgallantmasts and mizen topmast shot away, her three lower masts badly wounded in several places, and nearly all the standing rigging, and every part of the running rigging, sails, boats, and booms, cut to pieces. With all this serious damage, the Bonne-Citoyenne's loss amounted to only one seaman killed, and four seamen and one marine badly wounded. The Furieuse was in a far more disabled condition. Her topmasts and all her yards, except the cross-jack and sprit-sail, were shot away, and her lower masts reduced to a tottering state: she had also 14 shot-holes between wind and water, and five feet water in the hold. Her loss consisted of two quartermasters, 27 seamen, and six soldiers killed, her commander, two lieutenants, three midshipmen, four gunner's mates, 19 seamen, one lieutenant of artillery, and seven soldiers, all dangerously wounded; total, 35 killed and 37 dangerously wounded. The slightly wounded probably amounted to 18 or 20 more.

According to the certificate of two of the surviving French officers, the Furieuse commenced the action with 195 men; but, admitting 35 to be the correct amount of the killed, the ship must have had 213 men, 178 being the number of prisoners that were received out of her. As there may have been a slight mistake in the number of killed, and especially as several of the soldiers consisted of invalids, we shall consider the Furieuse to have had no more than 200 men.

COMPARATIVE FORCE OF THE COMBATANTS.

Few cases occur wherein the usual figure-statement requires less to be left without remarks than the present case. The Furieuse presented herself, at first, in the size and formidable appearance of a full-armed 38 or 40 gun frigate. The BonneCitoyenne made sail in chase; and it was only upon a near approach that she could have discovered, that the 26 maindeck ports of the frigate were but partially filled with guns. After the action had commenced and the rigging of the Furieuse become injured, the frigate's size was rather a disadvantage: it rendered her unwieldy in comparison with the Bonne-Citoyenne; who, even when disabled in her rigging, could manœuvre much more quickly than her antagonist. With respect, also, to the mutual cannonade, the lowness of the sloop's, and the great height of the frigate's, hull gave a decided advantage to the Bonne

Citoyenne; and to that may be attributed, in a great degree, the comparative impunity with which the latter came out of the action.

In resolving to measure his strength with an antagonist of such apparently superior force, Captain Mounsey displayed a highly commendable zeal for the service; as, in conducting the six hours' engagement to its final, and to him glorious result, he did an equal degree of skill and intrepidity. On the other hand, when it is considered that the French commander and two of his lieutenants (perhaps the only two) lay dangerously wounded, that more than 70 of his people had been placed hors de combat, and his ship battered until she was totally unmanageable and scarcely seaworthy; that, when thus reduced, a body of British seamen, numerically equal, and, in the sickly state of a portion of the French troops, physically superior, to all his remaining hands, were ready to rush upon his decks: when all these circumstances are considered, few persons will think that the flag of the Furieuse could have been kept any longer flying.

It was not merely in gaining this victory, that the officers and men of the Bonne-Citoyenne displayed so large a portion of those qualities, by which British seamen have attained their admitted pre-eminence. Much remained to be done. Two crippled ships, one with five feet water in the hold, were to be carried from the middle of the Atlantic to a port of safety. The effective prisoners, too, were more than equal in number to those by whom, during so long a voyage, they were to be kept in subjection. It took the Bonne-Citoyenne until 1 h. 30 m. P. M. on the 7th, and that was by very great exertions, ere she could take her prize in tow and make sail for Halifax, Nova-Scotia. On the 8th, at 9h. 30 m. P. M., the main and mizen masts of the Furieuse, no longer able, in their shattered state, to withstand the motion of the sea, fell overboard; and thus was a ship of 500 tons, herself in a crippled condition, compelled to drag after her a dismasted ship of nearly 1100 tons. The Bonne-Citoyenne did so for 25 days, and anchored with her prize in Halifax. The season of the year, no doubt, was much in her favour: had it been winter, one ship, if not both, would in all probability have foundered.

The Furieuse was afterwards purchased for the use of the British navy, and became classed as a 36-gun frigate. When subsequently fitted for sea at Portsmouth, Captain Mounsey, who had been promoted to post-rank the moment his exploit reached the admiralty, was appointed to command her. Lieutenant Joseph Symes, first of the Bonne-Citoyenne at the capture of the Furieuse, gained also, what he justly merited, a step in his profession. Captain Mounsey, in his official letter, makes honourable mention of his second lieutenant, William Sandom, his master, Nathaniel Williamson, and his purser, John Nicholas C. Scott; also of two passengers on board the

sloop, Mr. John Black and Mr. Angus M'Auley, who in the handsomest manner volunteered their services, and assisted at the guns, and wherever they could make themselves useful. Steel's monthly Navy-list, until some correspondent caused the mistake to be partially corrected, made the Furieuse of "50 guns;" which exceeds, by two, the number Captain Mounsey states the ship to have been pierced for, by six, the number she could have mounted without filling her chase-ports, and, by as many as 30, the number she did actually mount when captured. The French were very sore at this exaggeration of the force of their frigate, but laid the blame in the wrong quarter. A publisher is seldom very scrupulous on these points; but a British officer, although liable to be charged with every printed mistatement magnifying his own action, is too honourable to countenance such barefaced cheatery.

On the 17th of May, at noon, latitude 44° 6' north, longitude 11° 20′ west, the British 10-gun brig-sloop Goldfinch (eight 18pounder carronades and two sixes, with 75 men and boys), Captain Fitzherbert George Skinner, standing close hauled on the larboard tack with the wind from the north-east by north, discovered and chased a ship directly to windward. This ship was the French corvette Mouche, of 16 long brass 8-pounders and 180 men and boys, commanded by Lieutenant de vaisseau Antoine Allègre; and, although of so decided a superiority of force, M. Allègre suffered himself to be chased all the afternoon and night, and until 3 A. M. on the 18th, when the Goldfinch gallantly brought the Mouche to action. The two vessels continued to engage on opposite tacks, but at too great a distance for the brig's carronades to produce their proper effect, until 7 A. M.; when the corvette, with the head of her fore topmast shot away, made off to windward, leaving the Goldfinch with the loss of three men killed and three severely wounded, and her masts, rigging, and sails a good deal cut up.

On the 21st, off the north coast of Spain, the Mouche fell in with the British hired armed lugger Black-Joke, Lieutenant Moses Cannadey, and, after exchanging broadsides with her, stood away for the harbour of San-Andero. Here the Mouche, with a French gun-brig and schooner, was found and captured, on the 10th of June, by the British 38-gun frigates Amelia, Captain the Honourable Frederick Paul Irby, and Statira, Captain Charles Worsley Boys; who had arrived off that port to co-operate with the Spanish patriots under General Ballesteros in expelling the French from their territory.

On the 23d of April, while the British 38-gun frigate Spartan, Captain Jahleel Brenton, 18-pounder 32-gun frigate Amphion, Captain William Hoste, and 28-gun frigate Mercury, Captain the Honourable Henry Duncan, were cruising off the town of Pesaro, in the gulf of Venice, a number of vessels were observed to be lying in the mole. Deeming it practicable to take posses

sion of these, Captain Brenton anchored his three frigates, with springs on their cables, within half a mile of the town; and, having placed the boats of the squadron under the orders of Lieutenant George Wickens Willes, first of the Spartan, and formed them into two divisions, he directed the first division, composed of the launches with their carronades, and other boats carrying field-pieces, and commanded by Lieutenant Charles George Rodney Phillott, first of the Amphion, to take a station to the northward, and the second division, composed of rocketboats, and commanded by Lieutenant William Augustus Baumgardt of the Spartan, to the southward, of the town.

As soon as these arrangements were made, Captain Brenton sent a flag of truce on shore, to demand the surrender of all the vessels; adding, that should any resistance be offered, the governor must be answerable for the consequences. At 11 h. 30 m. A. M. the officer returned to the Spartan, with a message from the commandant of Pesaro, stating that, in half an hour, the English commodore should have an answer. At the end of 35 minutes, observing no flag of truce flying on shore, but that troops were assembling in the streets and on the quays, and the inhabitants employed in dismantling the vessels, Captain Brenton hauled down the flag of truce, and fired one shot over the town to give warning to the women and children.

Shortly afterwards the three frigates and the gun and mortar boats, by signal from the Spartan, opened their fire upon the town. At 32 minutes past noon, observing several flags of truce hung out, Captain Brenton made the signal to cease firing. Lieutenant Willes then pulled into the harbour; where he was informed that the commandant had made his escape with all the military. Considering the place now as surrendered at discretion, Captain Brenton sent all the boats to bring out the vessels, and landed the marines under Lieutenant Thomas Moore, of that corps, to protect them. By 6 h. 30 m. P. M., 13 vessels, deeply laden, were brought off. Several others had been scuttled by the inhabitants and sunk, and some were aground. 7 P. M. the castle at the entrance of the harbour was blown up, under the direction of Lieutenant Willes, and the British returned to their ships without a casualty. Nor was it known that any lives had been lost in the town, except one man, who, from not attending to the warning given him, was buried in the ruins of the castle.

At

On the 2d of May the Spartan and Mercury (the Amphion having been detached) chased two vessels into the port of Cesenatico, the entrance of which is very narrow, and was defended by a battery of two 24-pounders and a castle. Observing that several other vessels were lying in the harbour, Captain Brenton determined to take possession of the whole of them. The coast is so shoal, that the two frigates had only four fathoms considerably out of gun-shot of the town. On this account the boats

were detached ahead and on each bow, to lead in, with directions to make a signal when in three fathoms.

In this manner the two frigates, by noon, were enabled to anchor in a quarter three fathoms within grape-range of the battery. The latter was very soon silenced; and the boats under the orders of Lieutenant Willes, pushed in and took possession of it, turning the guns upon the castle and town, which were very soon deserted. The British captured on this occasion 12 vessels, some laden with corn for Venice, and others in ballast. The latter were filled with hemp and iron out of the magazines for those articles on the quay, and a vessel which had been scuttled was burnt. The castle and magazine were then blown up, the battery destroyed, and the guns spiked; and the British returned to their ships without having a single man wounded, although much exposed to the fire of the battery and of musketry. Nor was any damage done to the ships, although, in consequence of the zeal of Captain Duncan to get close to the enemy, the Mercury was for a short time aground.

On the 14th of June, in the morning, the British 18-gun brigsloop Scout, Captain William Raitt, discovering a convoy of 14 or 15 sail of vessels, under the protection of two gun-boats, coming round Cape Croisette, made all sail in chase; but, about 1 P. M., it falling calm, and the convoy being a good deal dispersed, Captain Raitt despatched his boats under the orders of Lieutenant Henry Robert Battersby. On seeing this, seven sail pushed for a harbour about three leagues to the eastward of the cape, into which the boats proceeded under a heavy and well-directed fire of grape and musketry.

Lieutenant Battersby, with a part of his men, landed, and attacked the enemy, who were numerous among the rocks: he then stormed and carried the battery, mounting two 6-pounders in embrasures. These were spiked; and, the boats with Lieutenant John Farrant, Mr. John Batten, the master, and master's mate Granville Thompson, having in the mean time pulled up the harbour, the seven vessels were brought out; although, for their better security, they had been made fast with ropes from the shore to their mast-heads and keels. In the execution of this service, the British sustained a loss of one man killed and five wounded.

On the 14th of July Lieutenant Battersby, at the head of a detachment of the Scout's seamen and marines, attacked a strong battery which commanded the port of Carri, between Marseille and the Rhone; carried the fort without any loss, spiked the guns, killed five of the enemy, and made seven prisoners. For his gallantry on this and other occasions, Lieutenant Battersby, in the succeeding September, was promoted to the rank of commander.

On the 12th of March, at 6 h. 30 m. A. M., the island of AntiPaxo in the Adriatic bearing about north distant six or seven